OCTOBER DAILY DEVOTIONS
DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Below are daily devotions for each day of the month. They include a quote from a famous individual with my personal comment and a scripture passage with my personal comment. I hope you find these quotations, scripture passages and my personal comments helpful in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ
October 1
“Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects Him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a coronet of thorn.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
We often are tempted to be friends with the world. It may be its material possessions, it may be popularity, it may be comfort, it may be entertainment and while none of these things may be sinful or wicked in and of themselves, they need to be placed in their proper place. When we value friendship with these things over our relationship with our Lord we have a major problem. When we value them over respect for the Word of God we are in error. When we place them above the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are on dangerous ground. Let us place friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father and the precious Holy Spirit above all that is in the world. We would be wise to do so.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
John 14:6
The religions of the world claim there are many paths to God. The world claims any of us can seek the path that seems right to us. Men, wise in the world, teach that we must accept any form of religion as true and right. But this is a fatal lie. There is only ONE way to know the God of all creation and that is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the way, the only way. He is truth and all other philosophies and postulations are a lie. He is the life and all other paths lead only to death. NO, there are not many paths, roads, trails or highways to God, there is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 2
“Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone.”
Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers is not telling us to not be involved in anything else in life but commitment to God, he is telling us to make sure we are serious only about one main thing, our commitment to God. We have a problem with dividing our commitment between the Lord and life’s responsibilities. We tend to be serious about our hobbies, our recreational interests and our job and just about anything other than our commitment to God and this causes us to be imbalanced in our life. If we are deadly serious about our commitment to God, all other aspects and responsibilities in our life will fall into place and be balanced. God comes first and always should.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”
Proverbs 19:20
Listening to advice is a constant need. But there is more that has to be done than merely listening to good advice, we have to follow it. Once we hear good godly advice the next task is to follow through and accept it. Once we really accept it chances are we will do what we were advised to do and our actions will be wise and prudent. This leads to a good reputation of honesty and integrity as well as a life blessed by the Lord.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 3
“Those who have abandoned themselves to God always lead mysterious lives and receive from him exceptional and miraculous gifts by means of the most ordinary, natural and chance experiences in which there appears to be nothing unusual.”
Jean-Pierre De Caussade
We often envy other Christians who seem to have dramatic life experiences with the Lord. They seem to have extraordinary answers to prayer and situations where God miraculously works in their lives. Possibly the reason we do not experience such situations is because we have not fully abandoned ourselves to the Lord. Do we hold back our full commitment? Do we restrict the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Do we fail to spend time with God in prayer and in His Word? I wonder if these are reasons that we fail to sense the presence of God in our lives?
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Pray without ceasing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Is this really possible? Yes I believe it is. It’s not that we go around speaking to God every minute of every day. It’s about sensing His presence through the day in all that we do. We work sensing Him close by and guiding us in decisions. We make decisions thinking of what His Word says and what He has taught us in the past. We feel the Spirit close by when we face a situation that is beyond our wisdom and ability and ask Him to help us deal with the problem. Practicing the presence of God is allowing yourself to let God be in, upon and around you no matter where you are. That is “praying without ceasing.”
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 4
“It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should be engraved on every vessel of mercy.”
Charles Spurgeon
Trouble comes into our lives often and in a sense engraves itself upon our hearts and minds. But this engraving on the life of the Christian is different than that of an unbeliever. In the Christian’s life trouble is engraved with the pen of God with gold. God lets trouble come into our lives to establish and grow our faith and with our humble submission to this trouble and by our reliance upon our Heavenly Father’s strength the result is an engraving of precious gold that represents the reward for our faithfulness and trust in Him. May we wear these engravings with honor knowing that God is glorified by each trouble we endure.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Do not quench the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19
It is amazing that the all powerful God in the form of the Holy Spirit can be wounded, hurt and quenched by us. Such weak and frail creatures we are, but somehow we can quench the Holy Spirit and bruise Him with our sins and selfish actions. Let us take cautious care that we do not wound the Holy Spirit by our thoughts or deeds. The Holy Spirit loves us, desires the best for us, cares for us and wishes to serve us, let us remember this the next time we are tempted to quench His whispers to our heart.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 5
“A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently.”
Saint Augustine
Often we feel like when we speak truth we have learned from God’s Word that we don’t do it justice. We worry that because we stumble with our words or that we are not eloquent in our delivery that the veracity of the truth is diminished. But just because we trip over our words, truth is still the truth. The opposite is also true. When people are skilled at using language and vocabulary, lies and falsehood can sound acceptable and impressive. But lies are still lies no matter how magnificent and flowery their covering and presentation. Let us be bold to speak the truth in love and not be intimidated by those who with charismatic speech seem to drown us out. Truth will last forever and lies will float away as if they were whiffs of smoke.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate.”
Psalms 145:8
Isn’t it a privilege to serve a God who is gracious and compassionate? Grace is unmerited favor and we have this in abundance with our Heavenly Father. He bestows His favor upon us even though we do not deserve it. As we stumble and fall, fail and make mistakes, He continues to bestow grace upon us. It is difficult to understand such a gracious God at times. Compassion of the Lord is beyond words. He cares for us not only when hard times come upon us by the hand of others, but even when we have brought calamity upon ourselves. We make choices often that place us in harms way, cause us heartache and distraction, and still He has compassion on us. He may show compassion in immediate help or He may wait for a season in His wisdom to help us grow and learn from what we have done, but He always, and I mean always, shows compassion at the perfect time. Praise God for His grace and compassion.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 6
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
St. Francis of Assisi
One of the main issues we struggle with all our life is with the selfish desires of our flesh. We strive to receive honor, acclaim, gifts, attention, love, respect, compassion, grace and the list goes on. What Christ and the Word of God tells us is that when we strive to give, not get, we receive all that we had ever hoped to acquire through fleshly means but there is a difference in what we receive. What we receive through giving does not have the same appearance as that which we receive through the flesh because those things acquired in the flesh are imperfect, limited and fleeting. Those things received through giving are perfect, unlimited and everlasting.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Every word of God is flawless.”
Proverbs 30:5
We have a hard time relating to this verse. While we guard our tongue and are cautious at times in what we say it is only a matter of minutes before we say something rude, inappropriate or inaccurate. But every word, EVERY word the Load speaks, breathes, writes and communicates is flawless. You cannot question the content, the intent or the motive behind or in it. It strikes to the marrow of our bone. It pierces our soul. It examines our mind. It purges our heart. It comforts our emotions. It challenges our pride. It corrects our disobedience. It rewards our humility. It encourages our discouragement. How precious are the words of God because they are flawless.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 7
“God becomes the constant examiner of your soul, but His exams are not shameful, painful, events.”
Jeanne Guyon
Praise God He does not leave us to ourselves, but desires to grow us in our faith and maturity in Christ. We are better as He molds us into Christ’s example by examining us.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“For you yourselves are fully aware that the return of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2
We study prophecy for many reasons but we must remember we will never know the exact time when the Lord will return. This is known only by God Himself. Let us be ready for His return for Jesus will surprise most if not all of us.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 8
“Faith is the foot of the soul by which it can march along the road of the commandments.”
Charles Spurgeon
You have no chance keeping the Lord’s commandments unless you have faith, and faith is a gift of God. We must seek to have faith and then God grants faith. Let us march along this road of commandments each and every day!
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
”For you are all children of light, children of the day”
1 Thessalonians 5:5
Never let yourself slip into the darkness. We as Believers live in the day, not the evil of the night. When you sense shadows coming over your life spiritually, run back into the light of God’s Word, into the illumination of the voice of the Holy Spirit, into the radiance of your life in Christ!
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 9
“A godly thought is an unseen treasure of an upright man.”
Julie Shannahan
We all have thoughts that float through our minds at times. It is the godly thoughts that we should treasure and dwell upon. As we grow in the Lord and the frequency of such godly thoughts becomes more common, we are blessed with these valuable treasures that flow from a heart, mind and soul focused on our Heavenly Father, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our most precious Comforter, the Holy Spirit. These unseen thoughts though hidden from those around us are manifested in the words we say, the deeds we do and the impressions we make. May we seek to dwell upon godly thoughts.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Let another praise you and not your own mouth.”
Proverbs 27:2
When we boast and praise ourselves we become the smallest cheering section for selfishness and the value of such praise is basically worthless. On the other hand, when we let praise and honor come from the mouths of others the veracity and value of such praise is beyond compare.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 10
“But if we turn away from obedience for even one second, darkness and death are immediately at work again.”
Oswald Chambers
This statement by Oswald Chambers should give us cause for concern. Often we take our calling to obey God too lightly. We become complacent and drop our guard. At that moment we let ourselves become exposed to the sinful flesh within us and the satanic forces that surround us. Genesis 6:4-7 describes how sin crouches at our door waiting for us. We do not need to fear Satan for we are protected by our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are conquerors and victors over the flesh because of He who lives within us and the awesome power He provides. But unless we are willing to obey and walk in step with the Spirit and follow the teachings of Christ we drop our sword, remove our armor and are an open target for all manner of sin.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Proverbs 26:12
Pride goes before a fall and boasting in oneself simply makes the fall all the quicker and harder. Personal honesty with our limited knowledge, frail faith and humble standing will allow us to obtain our Heavenly Fathers’ wisdom and be filled with His godly strength.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 11
“If your friends won’t support your (Christian) morality, they’re not really your friends.”
Pastor James Martin
True godly friends will not only support your Christian morality, they may actually get in your face, in a loving way, if you’re not living as you should as a Christian. People who say they are your friends but attempt to lead you down sinful paths are not really your friends!
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.”
Romans 15:1
To those that much has been given much is required and when God has made us strong or blessed in some fashion it is for the purpose of serving others in need not to serve self.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 12
“He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.”
Saint Augustine
God is responsible for creating us. He is all-powerful and mighty. He controls the Universe and keeps it in order. He is behind the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon. Yet, while He has all this massive power and ability, He will not force us to be a child of His. He offers His Son’s sacrifice as atonement for our sins, but it is up to us to choose Him. May each of us be thankful for this and seek to help others choose Him as well.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
Proverbs 27:6
Sometimes we perceive that our friends wound us for no reason, but often the wounds they inflict are for our protection. Friends tell us what we need to hear and honesty, even spoken in love, can often hurt. But our enemies will smother us with kisses to lead us astray, put us in harm’s way or to obtain something or their fleshly greed. Trust a friend who occasionally wounds you but never trust an enemy, no matter how many times they flatter you with kisses.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 13
“To confess your sins to God is not to tell him anything he doesn’t already know.”
Frederick Buechner
We often refrain from confessing our sins to the Lord because it makes us feel like we have failed. We also think that admitting them to the Lord will make it more apparent to Him that we have failed. The problem with these false beliefs is that while we may have stumbled in our walk of obedience, we need to confess our sins so that our stumble can be corrected. This confession lets the Lord pick us up so we can continue on our way. The other problem with these false thoughts is that we aren’t confessing something that our Heavenly Father doesn’t already know. He knows when we obey and when we disobey. He knows all our thoughts as well as our actions. So the best way to continue in our growing relationship with Him is to confess our sins and reestablish our relationship with Him.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Psalms 103:2
Life can get us down at times for two big reasons that are covered in this scripture. First we forget all the benefits of God. He is our Lord and Master and therefore is in charge of our lives. He is our Savior so we are not under His judgment but under His blessing. He is our Heavenly Father and cares for us as any loving, caring, powerfully strong earthly father would. He made us and knows us better than we know ourselves so is totally aware of what is best for us so blesses us when we need to be blessed and allows us to struggle when we need to grow, but in the struggles He is by our side to pick us up. Secondly we fail to praise the Lord. We focus on our world rather than our God. We worry about our situation rather than trusting our Heavenly Father. We forget that worship of God is a great encouragement for our relationship with Him and this act of praise can give us strength to carry on in difficult times. Let us praise Him and not forget His benefits.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 14
“Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Jesus through another person’s acquaintance with him.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
While we can learn many things from the teachings of others, unless we make it deeply personal in our own lives we will never really know the true Jesus Christ. Personal knowledge of Christ is letting the Word permeate our mind, letting it motivate passions for spiritual application in how we live. Personal knowledge of Christ is having an intimate relationship with Him and seeking to model our outward actions and internal thoughts according to the model He set. Personal knowledge of Christ is letting the Holy Spirit guide us in all matters and humbly following His lead. Personal knowledge of Christ desires to do the Father’s will over our own. Personal knowledge o Christ is letting our Heavenly Father have His way with our lives.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”
Proverbs 17:3
Silver and gold must be purged of all impurities for it to be of ultimate value. This refining extracts useless metals and dross from the pure metals and results in the purest of the rarest precious metals. This same process in a spiritual manner must take place in our lives as well. The Lord tests our hearts by the crucible and furnace of trials, struggles and hardships. The impurities of our flesh are burned away. The worthless dross is removed from our hearts and minds. Our thoughts are refined and restructured to desire the holy things of God. Softness and tenderness rarely accomplish such purification. The tough hardships of life test our faith, grow our faith and ground us in our relationship with the Lord. Let us accept these tests from our Heavenly Father as a blessing in disguise. They bring us closer to the person we were created to be and in the end bring us the greatest joy and pleasure as we see the world through the eyes of our Father.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 15
“God is in control, and therefore in EVERYTHING I can give thanks – not because of the situation but because of the One who directs and rules over it.”
Kay Arthur
Kay Arthur has hits the nail on the head with this statement. God is ALWAYS in control. The world seems out of control. The nation seems to be running towards destruction. We may be facing all sorts of hardships and trials that make no sense at all. But God is in control. We are called to give thanks “IN” everything because we know God is in control, that we are a child of God, that He loves and cares for us and that there is a godly reason for what we are going through. Let us give praise, honor and glory to our faithful loving Lord because no matter what happens to us, He is always in loving compassionate control over our lives.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
We often take our pastors, elders, deacons and Sunday School teachers for granted. This scripture encourages us to not just acknowledge there work but hold them in high regard and love because of the time, effort and work they put in to teach, shepherd, and pray for us. We very likely have no idea how much those in responsible position in the local church bodies sacrifice time to serve us, pray for us, care for us and love us as Christ would. Take a moment and pray for your pastors, for the elders that rule over your church body, for the deacons who serve in multitudes of ways and for the Sunday School teachers who teach our young ones and youth. They need your prayers as much as you need theirs.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 16
“The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We live in a culture that trumpets the benefits of being an individual but there is a cost. God from the beginning created man to have relationships. A relationship with Himself is mandatory for us if we wish to fulfill the reason for our creation, to be spiritual beings. A relationship with friends and family is necessary if we are to be balanced and normal in our emotional state. A relationship with a local body of believers is required I we are to grow in our faith, properly express our spiritual gifts and be ministered to by the spiritual gifts of other believers. No man or woman is an island and if they try to be they are headed or several kinds of destruction.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!”
Matthew 23:15
These words of Jesus were a proclamation of judgment revealing the hypocritical lifestyle that the Pharisees lived. They claimed to be alive spiritually and they were dead. They claimed to know the law, but they failed to live even a little of it as intended by the Lord. They claimed to be pure in heart and steadfast in faith, but they deceived themselves and had faith only in their meager distracting disciplines and their frail witness of fleshly holiness which is no holiness at all. May we guard our hearts, minds and souls from becoming Pharisees.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 17
“Never say you will pray about a thing; pray about it.”
Oswald Chambers
Such a simple statement, but so true. We often say, I’ll pray for you to others but do we really follow through? We often say, I’ll pray about that before I made a decision, but do we really? We say I’ve prayed about that a lot, but have we really been on our needs in prayer as much as we should have. Possibly less talk of “I’ll pray about that.” Is in order and more actual “praying” is what should take place. Following through with the statements of commitment we make is the real battle that must be fought. Once we take that step to actually pray, the words come, God ministers to us, the Holy Spirit directs our words and things happen, miraculous things!
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“All men are like grass.”
Isaiah 40:6
We are frail, weak and transient creatures, but we often seem to think we will live forever. The time we waste is amazing. The plans we make often ignore inclusion of God and His will for our lives. If we really comprehended how brief our existence is on this earth we would be much better stewards of the short span of time God has given us. Let us make the most of the vapor of life we have and seek to grow closer to the Lord, minister to others and strive to build God’s Kingdom. God has an eternal home for us we can enjoy, let us work for Him and show our appreciation and love for what He has and will do for us.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 18
“I wonder why it is that the whole idea of the godly man has somehow or other got lost amongst us? Why is it that Christian people are not described as ‘god-fearing’ people?”
Martin Lloyd Jones
The quick and easy answer is possibly we as Christians have ceased to fear the Lord as we should. We are often too busy to make time during the day and reserve our “god-fearing” moments for Sundays or possibly a Bible study here or there. I wonder if our minds are too cluttered with sports, entertainment, hobbies, business and interests so that there is no space left for having thoughts of “fearing the Lord?” Possibly we have corrupted what a “fear of the Lord” is and think it is a dreadful aversion to experiencing God in our most personal thoughts. Fearing the Lord is respecting His power, purity and providence. It is recognizing His authority over our lives but also His compassion and love for us. Let us seek to “fear the Lord” and alter the world’s perception that there are no “god-fearing” people left on the earth.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Some trust in horses and some in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
Psalms 20:7
The world is full of people that do not trust in the name of the Lord. They may not trust in horses and chariots, but they do often trust in stocks and bonds as well as investments. They trust in a good secure job or in their 401K and retirement. They trust in their skills and health. They trust in who they know and who they can use relationally for their own selfish purposes. They trust that there is no God that will hold them accountable for their self-centered goals. But as Christians we are different, or I would hope we are. We trust in the name of the Lord to save us, redeem us, strengthen us, empower us, comfort us, enable us, change us as well as enlighten us. May we continue to trust in the name of our Heavenly Father and may this trust sustain us as we live in this perverse world.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 19
“Hear the other side.”
St. Augustine
Four simple words, yet often very hard for us to do. We have our side and it seems to us to be clear, fair, perfectly understandable, and obviously very correct and perfect. Then there’s the other side, the alternate opinion, something other than what we initially feel is correct. But there is nothing wrong with hearing the other side. I believe, and I have experienced this many times, when you take the time to “listen” with an attentive and interested mind the “other side” is often better informed and much more creative than our own. Even when it isn’t, you have shown respect for someone’s thoughts if you at least hear them out. We owe it to each other to listen to the other side. This compassionate listening is one of the traits of a true servant of Christ. You respect people if you listen to the other side and grow in wisdom and understanding. Your reputation as a fair and loving person grows as well.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“I the Lord search the heart.”
Jeremiah 17:10
This is a scary verse if you think about it. God probes our hearts and minds. Nothing is hidden from Him. The Holy Spirit who lives within us as Christians knows every nook and cranny of the tiniest recesses of our souls. Nothing can be hidden from our Heavenly Father. He is so omniscient that He can search the hearts of everyone alive in an instant and know everything we know and even things that have not floated to the top of our consciousness yet. He makes it His business to search our hearts for He cares what we think, what we are contemplating, what is festering in there, what is bothering us, what our passions are and what our good intentions are and yes, even those small evil schemes that are trying to grow. Let us remember that God is continually searching our hearts, so let us not attempt to hide our hearts from Him for it will do no good. Let us be an open book. Let us seek to let Him change our heart after He finds what is lurking there. He will encourage the good and pure and purge the fleshly lusts and schemes. Thank you Lord for searching our hearts, for searching my heart.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 20
“Save me from my past sins, that the habit of them may not hold me captive…Save me from sudden and surprising sins: let me not be carried off my feet by a rush of temptation. Save me, LORD, from every sin. Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Spurgeon knew himself as we should know ourselves. We have past sins that that will attract our flesh. These have been forgiven and forgotten by our Heavenly Father, but this does not mean we have forgotten them nor that they cannot rise from the grave to lock us in chains again. So we ask the Lord to save us from past sins. There are other sins that sneak into our lives without the slightest warning. We are constantly at risk of being ambushed by a sin or two that can jump out at any second. We ask God to save us from these ambushing sins, but one of our best protections against them is to be ever close to the Lord in our relationship, then surprised we will not be, we will be ready to deny the temptation in the power of the Spirit. Our calling is to not let any sin of any type have dominion over us and this is made possible by both claiming the sacrifice of Christ and remaining close to the Lord and His Word at all times.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13
There are many things we can do by our own abilities and strengths. We have the capacity to accomplish many things using our own limited knowledge and wisdom. But we cannot do everything through our own skills and will power. It is guaranteed that we can do EVERYTHING through Christ who gives us strength. Even the things we could do on our own, need to come under the covering of our Heavenly Father for they can be done much better with His wisdom, strength and skills added to our own. Let us not be wise in our own eyes, or confident in our weak flesh, nor proud in how God has blessed us with a thinking mind. Our call is to do EVERYTHING with the blessing, covering and enabling of our Lord.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 21
“A new philosophy generally means in practice the praise of some old vice.”
G. K. Chesterton
We are exposed to new philosophies, religions and lifestyles each and every day. They all tout themselves as being wise, responsible and with the ability to assure happiness and contentment. But what Mr. Chesterton is telling us is that these ideas come from the world and are just restatements of desires of the flesh. Nothing can replace the wisdom of God’s Word. No structure for living can substitute itself for godly living. No manmade discipline can surpass living in a close relationship with the Lord. May we all stay on the steady course of walking the King’s Highway of Holiness through loving and serving the King of kings.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.”
Ephesians 6:10
Here we see a commandment that will encourage those of us who feel weak and insufficient for life. It assures us that we can be strong and handle any trail or struggle of life because we have our mighty Heavenly Father behind us, around us and in us. This is also a commandment to those of us who think we are strong without the Lord. No sooner do we think we can handle anything life throws at us and a hardship descends upon us that is overwhelming in its awesomeness. We must remember that human strength has some ability, but it can fail us. God’s strength and might never fails because it rests in His character and omnipotence.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 22
“We find Christ in all the Scriptures. In the Old Testament He is predicted, in the Gospels He is revealed, in Acts He is preached, in the epistles He is explained, and in Revelation He is expected.”
Alistair Begg
Christ is the main theme in all of God’s Word. This fact should give the world a blunt hint that God’s Holy Scriptures need to be taken seriously. Jesus was more than a nice man, an informed teacher, a loving individual, a famous prophet, a dedicated godly person. He was and is God incarnate. His death and resurrection paid the penalty for our sins and He will return one day to see justice done in all ways and areas. This should also convict us as Believer’s that we need to let Him truly be, Lord of our lives every minute of every day.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Wait for the Lord and keep His way.”
Psalm 37:34
We rush into decisions and situations without thinking many times. We make rash judgments and fail to pause to ask God for advice. By keeping the way or path of the Lord, means that we walk with constant dependence on His directing our steps. It does not mean we are frozen or hindered from proceeding if we don’t hear His voice. It means we pray, study His Word and step forward in godly wisdom always willing to be influenced by advice from wise godly counselors in our life, the whisper of His Holy Spirit in our ears, the revelation of truth in His Word as we read it or sometimes a rare miraculous sign He might place in our path. Sometimes waiting on God and keeping His way is using the faith we have developed so far and proceeding onward as we sense He trusts us with our future. He will intervene if necessary, but it makes Him proud when we make good decisions from the training He has put us through in the past.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 23
“The swift wind of compromise is a lot more devastating than the sudden jolt of misfortune.”
Pastor Swindoll has some great wisdom here. We all have misfortunes that happen to us at one time or another. They are difficult to deal with, but are usually not a result of us contributing to their appearance. But compromises are often much more damaging to our life than misfortunes ever can be for they are caused by poor choices or decisions on our part. We compromise our morals or ethics and reap a whirlwind of consequences. We compromise the wisdom God has taught us or the wise advice others give us and do what we want to do anyway and receive a just punishment at times. Let us stay close to the Word of God and not waver in our commitment to it. Let us seek to be led by the Lord in all we do and never compromise what God has clearly laid on our heart. We should gladly bear any misfortune rather than experience the devastation of our lives by a selfish compromise on our part.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me.”
Psalms 120:1
Isn’t it a pleasure and secure feeling to know that God can be counted upon to answer us any time we call. Sometimes in distress we focus on what is happening rather than on the Lord who rules all events. We let the hardship, trial or struggle sit upon the throne of our life rather than letting God rule from it. He should be our main focus and He should be the one we worship, especially in our distresses. Believe it or not we really do worship Him when we call out to Him in our distress. It gives Him the honor of being the “first responder” to a horrible catastrophe in our life. The second part of this honor we give Him after we call is giving Him our listening ear. I wonder if He answers more than we think in times of distress but because we are not listening we never hear Him speak. Let us call and listen for His answer and praise Him that He is always attentive to our situation and what we are going through. Praise His name.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 24
“The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.”
Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers always pushes us beyond where we are comfortable and I believe that is godly provoking. The sign of a good coach in any sports activity is their ability to push their athletes beyond what they think they achieve. Usually the coach can always get a little more out of them because they settle for too small of an achievement. I wonder if God is that way to us? We seek to be holy and obedient, but possibly we always fall short of where we should be because we have lower expectations than the Lord. He knows how much “higher” we should be in our walk of obedience and faith and that is what Mr. Chambers is speaking of, to maintain a godly perspective of what we can and should do because we probably can do much better than we are if we look at it from God’s viewpoint.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.'”
2 Samuel 12:5
This scripture speaks of Nathan confronting David of his sin with Bathsheba. I wonder how many times God or possibly our Christian friends have confronted us in this way. We lash out in anger at the sin of another, when in reality we are deeply guilty of the same sin. We condemn another Christian for their poor walk with the Lord, when we are walking in the same manner. It would be wise for us to let any harsh words of condemnation we are about to speak about others be spoken to ourselves first to test our lives for any similar imperfections. This would help us walk a more blameless life and would save us the embarrassment of being accused of such similar behavior as what we are accusing other of in their life. Something to think about I would say…
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 25
“Eighty and six years have I served Him, and he never did me any injury; how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior.”
Polycarp
These words were spoken by Polycarp when he was asked to renounce Christ by a Roman official. He was sentenced to death by burning at the stake for his commitment to Jesus Christ. So deep was his commitment that when the Roman soldiers tried to fasten him to the stake he was to be burned on, he told them that the Lord would give him the strength to stay on the stake without being attached to it. This he did till he died. How many of us could make this statement at the end of our life? How many of us could resolve to stand and be burned at the stake for our commitment to Christ. I believe many of us might doubt if we could do it, but I also believe that many of us who think we might deny Christ, might be surprised the strength and resolve we might have because God would give us the courage to stand for Christ. Often times when we are pushed to the brink of our faith, we go even further because we trust in our Lord and His sufficiency to empower us at such times. Keep the faith brothers and sisters!
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“For by Me thy days shall be multiplied.”
Proverbs 9:11
God sets the number of our days and this is in His marvelous plan for our life. It is good to take care of our bodies to lengthen our life. It is good to spend time enjoying life in good productive ways to minister to our emotions. It is very good to spend time in prayer, in God’s Word and in ministry to others to grow spiritually mature and draw closer to holiness. But, God knows the day we will be called home and that is in His plan for our life. Knowing that the length of our life is in the hands of God should comfort us. Knowing that the quality of life we choose depends partly on ourselves should challenge us to make the most of the time we have on this earth. Let us seek to live fully and completely by living a godly life as we trust our Heavenly Father for our the number of days in our life.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 26
“Our God has a method in providence by which He can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of His hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon convicts us here to be generous in our dealings with our time, treasures and talents. We are called as ministers, if we call ourselves Christians, and we must give of our time to those in need. We must also give of our treasures, which includes both possessions and finances. We must give of our talents as well, those natural skills and spiritual gifts that God has blessed us with. If we are stingy with our resources, whether they be bountiful or meager, then God may choose to let us reap a stingy reward. If we are magnanimous with our resources then God may choose to bless us with an overabundance. The greatest reward of being generous though, is the pleasure of helping others in need. I believe also, that just as we can grieve the Spirit of God we can give Him great joy when we have a giving heart. His joy will be ours as well when we serve others with our time, treasures and talents.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
James 5:10-11
Here James is giving us the godly examples of prophets and of Job for remaining steadfast in the face of suffering and hardships. These models of holy living should encourage us to live out our faith and remain steadfast in the midst of trials and the storms of life. But there is also a greater truth that James desires to communicate, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. He is tying in the perseverance demonstrated by these holy men of God and the compassion and mercy that our Heavenly Father manifests towards those who have the faith to persevere. In any struggle we have, no matter how difficult and painful, we must always remember that God loves us, has compassion for us and will seek ways of demonstrating mercy towards us. This truth of God’s character will not only sustain us through a time of trouble, but will also establish the fact that when the storm has dissipated, there will be a reward for the perseverance.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 27
“Confession in its widest sense is our means of baring our hearts and souls before God.”
Beth Moore
Beth Moore very accurately describes what confession is, the baring of our hearts and souls to the Lord. We can bare the deepest secrets, hurts, concerns and wounds to our Lord and these will always be met with compassion, love, forgiveness and tenderness. We can bare our souls in grief and depression or we can bare our souls to Him with our anger or regret. Whatever we expose before His Holy Righteous Loving eyes will be addressed PERFECTLY and COMPLETELY. You cannot bare your soul to just anyone and no one can match the degree with which we can bare our soul to the Lord. I have no idea how non-believers can live without having access to a Heavenly Father to whom they could bare their soul. This is just one of the many benefits we have as a child of God. We have a mighty, powerful, yet tender and sensitive God to pour out our soul to at any moment of any day. What a wonderful God we serve.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”
Ephesians 5:3
This passage couldn’t get any more convicting for us. It states that God’s standard for our lives is not to even have a hint of any immorality, impurity or greed in our lives. The dictionary defines a “hint” as: “A brief or indirect suggestion.” So God desires our lives to be so holy and pure that there isn’t even the slightest innuendo that might cause people to think we are not living according to how God wants us to. This task cannot be accomplished through human will power or means. It requires a constant submission to the Lord and a willingness to ask for forgiveness when we stumble, which we will. God sets this standard for His holy people. But with such a high standard we must also remember the compassion and forgiveness that God is so quick to express towards us. If He were a vengeful and cold-hearted god we would live in constant fear and torment. But as it stands in reality, we can live in the love of God knowing that we desire to live a holy life for Him and when we fall, He is right there by our side to pick us up, dust us off and forgive us as we continue on walking on the highway of holiness.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 28
“It is difficult to rebuke well; that is, at a right time, in a right spirit, and in a right manner.”
John Henry Newman
It is sometimes necessary to rebuke another because of sin, bad behavior or unloving actions, but to rebuke in love is difficult. If we are the ones who have been sinned against, we often let our emotions cloud the process of giving a godly rebuke. We can also be insensitive as to the best time to deliver a rebuke, picking the best time for us rather than the person we must confront. Other times we fail to choose our words carefully thinking more of getting our message across more than seeking to restore fellowship with a person in love. Let us receive the responsibility of giving a rebuke as a most holy responsible task. It is an opportunity to speak the truth in love, dying to ourselves, desiring most of all to let God work through us to help someone be a better person, protect them from walking down a dark sinful path or restoring a relationship that has been wounded.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Psalms 37:1-2
We often wonder why people who do wrong, mistreat others and seem to live a very selfish life prosper and escape justice. We are fearful at times as we entertain these thoughts that God has left us to the whims of the world and those who would do us harm. But Psalms tells us not to fear because of what we observe in such situations or to envy those who seem to prosper at the expense of others. Their time will come to pay for their decisions and choices. Their prosperity and wanton lifestyle lasts for a season, and then comes judgment. We are called rather to rejoice in our lives and the blessings God gives us even though they may be few, for there is great joy and peace in knowing that what you possess, what you are in Jesus and what you will receive in Heaven is beyond any worldly value for it lasts for eternity.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 29
“A New Testament saint is not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.”
Oswald Chambers
There is a lost behavior of the common Christian, sacrificial service to others. Yes it is claimed that the majority of people in the United States are Christians, but are they truly Christians and are they sacrificial saints willing to minister to others despite the hardship and sacrifice? Our calling as Christians is to live as Jesus would in all that we do, especially in service to others. May you and I evaluate our commitment to Christ and apply new and significant areas of our lives to sacrificially giving ourselves to ministering to those in need. May we become broken bread and poured-out wine for the glory of God.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9
Christians have a much needed calling on their lives, being peacemakers. In our world of stress and strive, anger and anguish there is a strong need to have peacemaking Christians in all facets of society. This requires a calm spirit, a godly love for others, a determination that truth is preserved and promoted, a commitment to an almighty God that desires peace to be among all men. Let us seek ways to be at peace with God in our own heart, mind and soul, so we can promote peace among those we come in contact with.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 30
“Maturity starts with the willingness to give oneself.”
Elisabeth Elliot
When we sense that we are holding back something in ourselves from the Lord we know we have more work to do in our spiritual maturity. On the other hand if we look back on how much we gave Him of ourselves a month ago or a year ago and see that we are giving more to Him today, we can know that we have grown in our dedication to Him and in our Christian spiritual maturity. We will never reach spiritual perfection in this life, but let us always see a progression and growth in our maturity in Christ.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
Proverbs 2:6
To be honest, all of us have done some very silly and stupid things at times because we have not sought out God for advice and input. Proverbs tells us here that God gives wisdom but we must be willing to ask for it and accept it when it is given. Often we are befuddled and confused on what to do when a simply prayer for knowledge could be said or looking into scripture would give us understanding. When we are at wits end what to do or confused in how to make a decision, let us first seek the Lord for He will give us wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
October 31
“If you hug to yourself any resentment against anybody else, you destroy the bridge by which God would come to you.”
Peter Marshall
Have you ever looked upon resentment and anger that you have towards someone as a hug that is so tight it squeezes the spiritual life out of you? Possibly what Peter Marshall is getting at is that you can’t share an intimate hug with more than one other person, so when you let resentment dominate your life you’re not open for your relationship with God to develop or grow deeper. Resentment is the fertilizer for inappropriate anger. It is a deed of the flesh that if allowed to grow will squeeze the very life out of your relationship with the Lord. Kill resentment by forgiving others or admitting your jealousy or praying for the person you feel resentment for and do this in humility before the Lord. God will draw close and you will be a better servant of God for doing it.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
“But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.”
Ecclesiates 4:10
We live in a society that is dominated by individualistic encouragements. But God’s Word tells us we need each other. You can’t be a hermit Christian. No man or woman is an island. We rely and depend on each other, that is who God created us to be. We need relationships. Even God being ONE God has a triune nature of three persons. Christ’s church was established to facilitate and foster relationships and service to one another. Seek to be someone who others can rely upon to pick them up, and be willing to let others give you their arm as you need to be steadied during a tough time. You can’t do it alone, life is too hard and God never made you to live through storms of life without the helping hand of a close friend.
Michael K. Farrar, O.D.